Explanation of Systems Analysis of Indy Charter Schools Power Structure: Connecting the Dots

The attached diagram of power highlights only a section of the power, influence, and money behind the NEO plan. Additionally it highlights key people and companies behind the broadly defined education reform movement for the city of and the state of . Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity and to streamline the relationships between people and companies, the graph strategically focuses on particular relationships and the below explanation will unpack those links/relationships. Lastly, it was decided to use tubes and not arrows to signify links/relationships between entities, because these relationships are bi- directional (both parties benefit from the relationship) and the relationships are more nuanced in nature than just one direction or one party benefiting from the other. Simply, this diagram of power can be viewed as a network of “who’s who” of power when it comes to defining not only the landscape of education, but the landscape of industry and how our communities look for the city and the state.

The sizes of tubes vary and have some correlation to level of importance, but the most important factor in determining the type of relationship is the color of the tube. The following sections will go through each color, their meaning, and a brief overview of the links/relationships associated with that particular color. Throughout this document links, relationships, partnerships, and association will be used interchangeably.

Red Tubes

The red tubes represent the direct relationship between individuals and Eli Lilly and the Eli Lilly Endowment, Inc. These individuals have been or are currently employed by Eli Lilly or the Eli Lilly Endowment, Inc. Additionally, these individuals also have a red square around their photo.

Former/current employees: Bart Peterson, Mark Miles, Ronni Kloth, (not included but should be considered: )

*There is a red tube with a turquoise outline between Eli Lilly and David Harris. This connection was made based upon a substantial amount of data that suggest that David Harris/Mind Trust is simply [but indirectly] the education arm of Eli Lilly. (See Bart Peterson connection , over 20 million dollars that Eli Lilly either gave or assisted Mind Trust in “raising” – “In a partnership with Eli Lilly, we [Mind Trust] were able to raise $18 million dollars in 13 months” ~ David Harris)

Orange Tubes

The orange tubes refer to money/financial contributions between parties. Starting from left to right:

1. Under former State Superintendent Tony Bennett, the Indiana Department of Education gave $500,000 to Marian University for an education leadership turnaround program

“Tony Bennett and the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) pulled funds together to start an academy that would train world-class teachers and principals to send to Indiana’s struggling schools and break the cycle of poor student achievement by implementing transformative leaders who have strong values and knowledge, as well as the skills needed to boost academic success and ultimately diminish the achievement gap.” (http://marianuniversity.olhblogspot.com/2010/09/22/academy-for-teaching-and-learning-leadership/)

*Marian University also houses Teach For America, that is why they are connected on the diagram. To what extent the funds given from Tony’s office in support of Marian’s commitment to TFA are not substantiated and needs further investigation. 2. Eli Lilly (PAC) made a $5000 donation to Mayor Campaign. http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Clerk/Election/Candidate_Info/MCEBCampaignFinanceArch ive/Filings/ballard%2C%20gregory_mayor-indy_2012-12-31_cfa-4-ann.pdf (It is interesting that Eli Lilly made a financial contribution to former mayor Bart Peterson’s opponent and then hired Bart Peterson months after his lost to Greg Ballard.) 3. Millionaire Allan Hubbard gave $10,000 to Tony Bennett’s 2012 campaign for superintendent. http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/bennett-campaign-contributions-august-2012/ 4. The law firm of Bose, McKinney, & Evans gave $10,000 to Tony Bennett’s 2012 campaign for Superintendent for Instruction. http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/bennett-campaign-contributions-august-2012/ 5. The law firm of Bose, McKinney, & Evans gave $250 to Rep. William Crawford campaign http://www.citact.org/representative-bill-crawford-d-indianapolis-district-98 6. Eli Lilly made a $1500 campaign contribution to Rep. William Crawford http://www.citact.org/representative-bill-crawford-d-indianapolis-district-98 7. Lacy Johnson and Ice Miller (the law firm were Johnson is a partner) gave $12000.00 to Rep. William Crawford campaign 8. Apart from the $10,000 received from Michael Bloomberg (Mayor of New York City and huge figure in the education reform movement) or the nearly $30,000 given by LRC, Inc. (which pertinent information about the company and the people behind it is missing from state records); Sam Odle received $2500 from Lacy Johnson for his IPS school board campaign. http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Clerk/Election/Candidate_Info/MCEBCampaignFinanceArch ive/Filings/odle%2C%20samuel_schbd-msdips_2012-12-31_cfa-4-ann.pdf

*He is just one of multiple IPS school board seats that were bought to further the education agenda and subsequential takeover of IPS. For a more detailed breakdown of IPS school board seats that were purchased visit: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2013/03/buying-indianapolis-public-schools.html

Turquoise Tubes

Turquoise tubes were used to show establish appointments of individuals and formal connections between companies. Starting from left to right:

1. Current Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard appointed Jason Kloth as the Deputy Mayor of Education, who had a prominent role in Teach For American as well as his spouse (now employed by Eli Lilly), current director of Charter Schools, Brandon Brown, and Stephanie Bothun, Manager of Strategy, Operations and Finance for the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

*It is apparent that the Mayor’s OEI is staked with TFA

2. Under former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, David Harris was appointed as the assistant Deputy Mayor for Planning (1 year 5 months). After legislation allowed for charter schools in 2001, David Harris became the Charter Schools Director for the next five years. *great article that highlights how (former education chair) Republican state senator Teresa Lubbers saw an opportunity to take a bi-partisan approach to charters through Peterson and giving rights back to the teacher unions – we can see how that panned out for the teacher unions: http://educationnext.org/indianapolis-mayor-bart-peterson/ 3. Mind Trust was founded and created by David Harris 4. Mind Trust brought a host of organizations to Indiana a. Teach For America** b. Stand for Children** i. Non-profit, but donated to IPS school board campaigns. c. Teach Plus** d. Greater Schools**

**All these organizations are partners in the NEO plan

Pink Tubes

The pink tubes represent employment or official positions between individuals and companies. Starting from the right to left:

1. Former Indianapolis Mayor and current Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Eli Lilly; Bart Peterson sits on the board of directors for the Mind Trust. 2. Mark Miles, is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Inc. (“CICP”). CICP is a non-profit, regional alliance of corporate CEOs and university presidents focused on long-term growth and economic development throughout the Central Indiana region 3. After leaving IU Health, Sam Odle (current IPS school board member) took a position in Bose Public Affairs Group. http://www.bosepublicaffairs.com/news/?news_id=44 *Bose Public Affairs Group is a subsidiary of Bose, McKinney & Evans LLP Attorneys at Law, who gave and contributed to former state Superintend of Instruction Tony Bennett and Rep. (D) William Crawfords campaign.

Dark Blue Tubes

` The dark blues lines are reserved for Bose, McKinney & Evans LLP Attorneys at Law and their clients. The have a extensive list of clients, but for this diagram the two most influential clients of the law firm are the city of Indianapolis and Eli Lilly. For a more in-depth list of their cliental visit: http://www.boselaw.com/clients.cfm

Black Tubes

Black tubes represent formal business relationships between parties. This diagram could potentially have a black tube leading to almost every company and individual included, but to streamline the relationships, it was decided to focus on the substantiated business links between parties. Starting with upper right corner.

1. As one of the partners with the NEO Plan, the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs as a strong relationship with millionaire Allan Hubbard. Hubbard has spoken at the IU school’s sponsored events, recognized as a distinguish advisor and he is a member of the Dean’s Council. http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/13999.html 2. CICP has an extensive list of private and community partners. Two of those partners are The Mind Trust and the Lilly Endowment Inc. For a complete list of their partners visit: http://www.cincorp.com/partners 3. One of the most alarming factors of the NEO Plan and what brings into question the full NEO draft (attached as well) is the connection between The Mind Trust, the Mayor’s Office and Public Impact. Public Impact is an education reform group out of North Carolina and they are also the authors behind the much disputed 2011 Mind Trust report: A Bold Plan to Transform Indianapolis Public Schools (http://www.themindtrust.org/files/file/opp-schools-full-report.pdf ). According to the full NEO draft, Public Impact is also the authors behind the NEO Plan.

Gold Stars

All the gold stars are assigned to companies who partners in the NEO plan.

Green Stars & Conclusion

According to an Indiana Business Journal article (http://www.ibj.com/should-indianapolis-mayor- control-ips/PARAMS/article/26873), green stars were assigned to a secret group of key “power brokers” (not every member was included in this diagram) that assembled in spring 2011 to “[create] a plan that would transfer control of Indianapolis Public Schools to the Indianapolis mayor.” According to the article, “those involved in the talks said they were not ready to discuss the plan publicly, in part because they haven’t worked out their strategy for building community support.” As early as April 2011, “the plan” was secretive. The plan was never birth out of or initiated in collaboration with the community.

The plan was derailed from its early fall 2011 referendum due to the Democrats’ five-week absence. In December 2011 the Mind Trust report was released. The report was not well received so the “power brokers” have repackaged the same message through the Mayor’s office. Capitalizing on the Bloomberg competition, they sought an opportunity to provide a plan that not only came with money, but the clout of being an initiative that has won a competition. Jason Kloth introduced an abbreviated version of the NEO plan, which did not win a grant from the Bloomberg competition, to the newly elected IPS school board at Eli Lilly in late 2012. The plan was not publically presented in front of the school board and community. Why such secrecy about a plan that is about the community? After elections the Mayor’s office assembled a specific set of supporters of the plan that would be perceived to cover the gamut of special interest and minority groups. However, these partners have a narrow view of education (they already drunk the Kool-Aid) and did not represent a diverse group of ideologies or a true sample representation of the diversity within communities and minority groups. Based upon the NEO full draft (which is inundated with comments and inserts from David Harris [allegedly]) and conclusions drawn from this power analysis, it is clear that the Mayor and his Office of Education Innovation are not in control of the narrative on education, which is being touted as coming from the 25th floor of the City County Building. These described “power brokers” appear to be orchestrating much of the education reform efforts in the city; specifically they have had a great deal of influence on the creation of the NEO Plan. Simply, the Mayor and his office is a front for a clear corporate takeover of public education in the city that is being arranged by those with no education or classroom experience and a clear agenda that seeks to change the landscape of Indianapolis on the backs of urban youth. Democracy and the future of our children have been sold to the highest bidder. Our children are on the auction block once again.

Additional Resource List of recent campaign contributions: http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Clerk/Election/Candidate_Info/MCEBCampaignFinanceArchive/Candidates /mru.html

“Explanation of Indy Charter Schools Power Structure” is by Dr. Nathaniel Andrew Williams Indianapolis